


An Unconventional Holiday Romance

by mauvera



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Fluff, Holidays, M/M, harley and peter are both 18 here, look idk why i keep writing these two either
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-09-21 06:09:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17038184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mauvera/pseuds/mauvera
Summary: A series of short snippets into Harley and Peter's lead up to Christmas in which they are both oblivious, chaotic and a pain in Tony's ass.





	1. Decoration

**Author's Note:**

> Not going to lie this fic exists because my friend wanted more Harley/Peter content and this is now her christmas present

“Mr Stark.”

 

“No.”

 

“Mr Stark.”

 

“No.”

 

“Mr Stark.”

 

Tony sighed, “Kid. How likely do you think it is that my answer will change just because you say my name hundreds of times while I am very much trying to work right now.” He cocked an eyebrow at Peter, finally looking up when it became clear that ignoring the kid wasn’t working out as successfully as he’d hoped. Clearly he should have known better, if there was one thing to know about Peter Parker it was that he was too tenacious for his own good. And for Tony’s good. Really he was too persistent for anyone on the Earth that was trying to do something counter to Peter’s plan.

 

“Mr Stark,” Peter whined again, as though not paying attention to a word that Tony had just said would somehow endear him to his side. “Mr Stark this is important. What if the world ended tomorrow and the last thing you said to me was ‘no’, denying my dying wish.”

 

“What the hell kid?” Tony couldn’t stop the shock plastered across his face “That was dark. And you’re not dying so the answer is surprisingly still no.” 

 

Peter just batted his eyes innocently.

 

“Look, I’m happy to let you stay here until the new year or whenever it is the work on your building will be finished,” Tony said exasperatedly, “But while you are staying at my tower my rules apply which just so happen to include the rule of ‘No Letting Peter Parker Decorate’. I do not need to have my entire house decked out in tinsel and glitter alright?” 

 

Peter nodded solemnly.  _ Finally, the message got through. _ Tony would no longer have to spend his time looking into that kid’s damn puppy dog eyes and he could actually get back to his work. Even though the holiday season was here that certainly didn’t mean Tony got a break from work. No matter what Pepper insisted. And speaking of Pepper… Why was Peter walking over to her with that look on his face. Tony didn’t trust that look. He saw the way Pepper was smirking in that knowing way she had and all of a sudden he didn’t trust that look either. 

 

“Hey Pepper,” Peter started charmingly, a sugary sweet smile that meant nothing but trouble as far as Tony was concerned “I was just wondering, what your thoughts might be on the idea of me being allowed to decorate the tower.”

 

Tony watched the way Pepper’s lips curled even further into a grin. He saw the way she inclined her head just a little from where she was perched on a nearby seat just to catch Tony’s eye before turning back to Peter who looked ready to burst with happiness. He knew what the look meant. Everyone did.

 

“Peter, that sounds lovely,” betrayal. That’s what Tony felt, betrayal in his own home. “You know you can always come to me with questions like this Peter, after all I am CEO of Stark Industries, so even if  _ someone _ else’s name might be on the building he has, oh, maybe twelve percent of the authority in here.”

 

Peter grinned triumphantly back at Tony who was too busy glaring at his beautiful fiance whom he loved dearly even if she was evil enough to encourage Peter’s incessant need to make every possible surface of  _ his _ building sparkle. Pepper just smiled right back at him, blowing him a kiss because she was evil. 

 

-

 

“Harley. We have a mission,” Peter declared the moment he strode into the lab. The boy he had addressed refused to look up until he finished welding because he was intimately familiar with how chaotic things got around the tower and he was not looking to repeat Tony’s mistake of welding his arm to the desk because unlike Tony, he wasn’t encased in a gigantic metal suit of armour. Once his work was finished and he had safely stowed the equipment, because despite what Tony said he was actually capable of taking care of his possessions, he turned to Peter.

 

After three years of knowing him it still came as a shock to find Peter before him. How he had managed to befriend a boy that looked like he was some kind of supermodel for nerds astounded him. Perhaps he should’ve been more astounded by the fact that he happened to have powers and dressed up as a spider to fight crime, but after knowing Peter for all of two months before the secret got out, he really wasn’t. 

 

“What’s up?” He asked when it still seemed like Peter wouldn’t talk for fear of interrupting. Peter grinned and dropped to the floor from where he had been patiently waiting up on the ceiling. Show off. 

 

“We have a mission.” Harley quirked an eyebrow at his evident enthusiasm, and was just about to remind Peter of the small, insignificant little fact that he was not a superhero when he kept talking, a sincere intensity in his eyes that Harley was unfamiliar with “We have to decorate the tower.”

 

Oh.

 

“You’re kidding right?” 

 

“No. You need to help me decorate this thing with as many baubles and as much tinsel as is humanly possible. I want at least a billion fairy lights.”

 

“I have one question,” Harley stated, still not letting him express any kind of emotion at Peter’s little mission brief “Why?”

 

“Because Tony didn’t want me to do it but Pepper said yes which I’m pretty sure meant she wanted me to make it as over the top as possible in punishment for Tony’s traditionally awful christmas presents that he got her over the years. Harley, this is my one chance to do this so will you help me? Please?” 

 

As if Harley even had a choice when Peter brought out those puppy dog eyes. He was a goner in a second.

 

“Alright, alright, stop your begging. I’ve got a plan but we’re going to need Spider-Man.”

 

Should Harley be concerned by how sinister Peter’s grin suddenly was? Probably. Did it make him look kind of attractive? Definitely. 

 

Well this was going to be interesting.

 

-

 

For one single glorious moment Tony didn’t realise anything was wrong. Then of course he ran into a tree. And then another one. 

 

“Who put a forest in my living room?” He asked but no one needed to answer. If the excessive amount of christmas decorations weren’t enough of a giveaway, then the fact they were all red and blue did. “More importantly, where is Peter?”

 

A stifled laugh came from behind one of the, what was it? Thirteen? The thirteen separate christmas trees sprawled across the room. Tony rounded one to find Harley lounging across a sofa, a small smile on his face. 

 

“How ya going Tony?” 

 

“Oh, great. I was just wondering where my good friend Peter might be. I need to throw him out of a window for some reason.”

 

“I can’t imagine why. He didn’t do this,” Harley said, nodding at the blinding decor.

 

“Oh really?” Was Harley really about to admit responsibility? That’d be a first. 

 

“Of course not.” He said, the smile never leaving his face. “It was Spider-Man.”

 

As if he was summoned, Peter emerged crawling across the ceiling, still in the suit. Tony watched him drop to the floor beside Harley, practically vibrating with excitement. 

 

“Peter-” “Spider-Man” “Spider-Man then, fine, I would just like to ask you something.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Is the tinsel that you have so kindly put all over my roof held up by spiderwebs? I’m simply asking because as I have recently learned, your most recent batch of web fluid has a tendency to stain white surfaces. And if they are being held up by spiderwebs I might have to revise my plan to throw you out of a window. Very high up.”

 

“It’s not... Not spiderwebs,” that was all Peter had to say before he turned to Harley, picked him up in his arms, shouted “RUN” and sprinted from the room. Tony sighed and considered whether or not it was worth him following the pair. Until he recalled the way Peter had cradled Harley in his arms and he realised he very much didn’t want to interrupt whatever was going on between those two. Instead he slumped into the couch that Harley had just vacated, turned on the television and tried to ignore the half dozen baubles strewn across the screen.


	2. Tinsel

“Wait that’s it?” Harley asked.

 

“Yeah, what else did you expect?” Peter laughed, before packing away the lab equipment he’d been using. Harley reached over to pick up the vial of webfluid that Peter had just made.

 

“Not sure, figured there’d be more, I dunno, explosions maybe? More complex method? Something?”

 

“Sorry to disappoint, but I did tell you I came up with this in the middle of my chemistry class so it might just be that your expectations were too high,”

 

“I haven’t had any expectations for anything in life since the moment I found out Spider-Man is actually just a dork,” he hadn’t finished talking before needing to dodge out of the way of Peter’s hand swiping over to hit him.

“Oh and you’re just so cool aren’t you?” Peter retaliated “With your nice hair and cool clothes and bad attitude.”

 

“Were you trying to insult me there Peter? Because that’s very much not the effect I got.”

 

Peter struggled to think of any kind of comeback considering that yes, that really hadn’t been his best attempt at an insult. It’s not his fault though that Harley was just looking _really_ good that day. It was distracting, okay?

 

Harley’s smug grin widened the longer Peter remained silent, right until he simply walked away, giving some weak excuse that he had homework and he definitely wasn’t leaving just because Harley had totally picked up on the way Peter had been checking him out.

 

Ah well, Harley needed Peter gone anyway if his plan was going to work anyway.

 

-

 

A fist swung right for Peter’s head. He dropped to the ground, sweeping his leg out to take down the woman who was doing her very best to beat him up. She wasn’t succeeding even a little bit but he had to admit he admired her determination. Normally once he caught petty criminals trying to get away with a robbery they would give up the second they saw him. It never seemed worth it to fight Spider-Man just for the sake of a handful of cash. This lady never seemed to have gotten the memo though, she still trudged on through the street throwing hit after hit right until Peter’s kick took her down. He jumped back to his feet shooting a net web over her to give him time to alert the police.

 

However even while Karen was sending out their location Peter’s attention was a little bit preoccupied.

 

“What the…?”

 

The woman was not in a web but… tinsel? Or was it fairy lights?

 

Peter peered closer, yes that certainly looked like tinsel, but it was sparkling and luminescent. Curiously he shot another web and sure enough more shimmering strands appeared. He pulled them close only to find this mysterious material still behaved exactly like his normal webs. The longer he looked the more he began to appreciate the look, really it was almost… festive.

 

Ah. Harley it was then.

 

“Not too bad,” Peter muttered to himself, oddly touched that Harley had clearly paid so much attention to Peter’s demonstration. Perhaps Harley cared more about Peter’s, uh, extracurricular lifestyle than he thought. He must’ve spent hours perfecting this effect, a brilliant bit of holiday cheer that he knew Peter would love. Warmth spread through his chest at the idea of Harley putting so much time and effort into this little surprise for him.

 

Well, when given a gift such as this there was no question what someone like Harley would want him to do; and if it was a spectacle he wanted, well, that’s what he was going to get.

 

Leaving the thief behind, still nicely wrapped and shimmering where she sa,t Peter took a few running steps and leapt into the air, a shot of webs arcing before him in a graceful curve of light. All at once Peter had a brilliant idea, grateful for the countless hours he had spent swinging through the streets. At this point he practically knew them like the back of his hand which was exactly what he needed if his little plan was going to work out.

 

-

 

“Harley?” Tony’s voice boomed from a speaker hidden somewhere within the lab walls. Glancing up Harley wondered what it was that needed his attention so desperately. Normally if Tony was too lazy to walk all the way downstairs FRIDAY would just alert Harley to whatever was happening. The fact Tony actually bothered to speak aloud to him meant something had happened, and from what he’d learnt across the years at his stays in the tower “something had happened” meant anything from “the tower is on fire and the world is ending” to “I’ve just thrown an impromptu party where you can meet all the Avengers”.

 

So Harley was quick to sprint to the elevator. Hoping it would be more of the latter situation but expecting the former. When he alighted to the top floor he immediately rushed to the window where he could see Tony’s silhouette. The man was staring at the ground with such intensity Harley was certain that the tower must be on fire. Again.

 

However the closer he got to the window the more Harley’s confusion grew. There was something different about the city. Something was wrong. He peered down at the streets below tracing great streaking paths of light throughout city blocks. The longer he stared the more the lines began to twist, sliding into place until an image could be seen.

 

It was a gigantic spider. A very familiar looking spider, in fact one might almost say it looked like the spider printed onto a certain local hero’s suit. He felt a smile tug at his lips as he gazed down on Peter’s masterpiece, entire streets were lined with the luminescent spiderwebs Harley had created.

 

Peter must’ve spent hours swinging back and forth, weaving a tapestry amongst the city until he’d perfected his design. If the fact that the spider was built to align seamlessly with the tower’s best viewpoint wasn’t enough of a clue that this was a gift for Harley, the little Santa hat that had been added upon its head was.

 

He recalled a conversation they’d had days ago, wherein Peter insisted that yes Harley, Santa hats on anything totally means that whatever it is becomes festive, you’re just a killjoy. And looking out over the city to see an entire monument created just for him, using the webbing he’d made especially for Peter, it just might’ve been enough to convince him. A comforting warmth spread through his chest, Peter’s display was for him. He’d painted the city just for Harley.

 

Who knew he could be so… sweet?

 

“Hey Harley?” Tony said without turning to him, “You wouldn’t happen to know who transformed the repulsors in my Iron Man armour to shoot out glitter would you?”

 

And _that_ was Harley’s cue to exit.


	3. Baking

The fire extinguisher slammed into at least three separate walls on his mad dash to the kitchen. Harley would apologise later. Fire now. Emergency. Panic. He couldn’t help the rush of thoughts in his head as he imagined dozens of scenarios that could explain the smoke that curled lazily through the air. Tony might’ve been too sleep deprived to notice that he left an invention in a delicate state. Peter might’ve mixed the wrong chemicals when making web fluid. A supervillain might be attacking. Peter might’ve somehow got his hands on a flamethrower. The options were so endless that when Harley finally burst into the kitchen he was more shocked by the absence of actual danger than he would’ve been if somehow had pointed a gun right at him.

 

Peter was too busy cursing to himself while he stood before the kitchen sink to even notice Harley’s dramatic entrance. However when Harley let out a soft and very exasperated sigh, Peter turned only to stop short when he saw the way Harley was standing there clutching the fire extinguisher like a weapon. 

 

“Uh hey there Harley. You doin alright?” He said as though he weren’t currently engulfed in smoke. 

 

“Oh yeah fine, just trying not to have a panic attack about the tower being attacked. Thank god it’s just that you suck at cooking.”

 

“Now that’s just rude,” Peter pouted. 

 

“Your sleeve is currently on fire.”

 

“Oh shi-” 

 

Harley watched in begrudging amusement as Peter flailed around the kitchen trying to put out the flames that crawled up his awful christmas sweater. Eventually he took pity on him and came over to help, dropping the fire extinguisher on the floor because he was not willing to ruin the sweater. Just that morning he’d watched Peter genuinely hiss at Tony when he dared threaten it with his oil covered hands. 

 

“Hold still, Peter, Peter no. Stop. Come back here and- yes, yes that arm. No. You’re making it worse- Just, damn it. Let me-” Harley’s hands flew up to grasp tightly onto Peter’s shoulders, holding him in place while he patted out the flames. As the smoke cleared around them Harley found that he was much closer to Peter than he’d expected. Somehow his left arm had curled up until it was clasped around Peter’s neck while his right hand was still resting on his still-warm sleeve. He’d backed Peter against the kitchen counter to keep him in place while he’d fixed the problem but now they simply stood pressed against one another for no real reason. Although as he looked at the red flush working itself up Peter’s neck he considered that perhaps it was for a certain reason. 

 

Before things got too weird though Harley stepped back, cleared his throat and asked just who taught Peter to “cook”.

 

“Hey!” Peter’s indignation almost covered the small crack in his voice which was quickly hidden, much to Harley’s disappointment, “Don’t say it like that, Aunt May taught me to cook.” He paused, looking at Harley’s blank stare. “Okay yeah, maybe that explains why I suck at this.”

 

One day Harley swore he would learn to resist Peter’s sad little puppy dog eyes. That day had not yet come though because before he knew it Harley was reaching past him to clear out the mess and restart the cookies Peter had evidently failed to make. 

 

“Come on, I’ll show you how do it.” He said, stupidly happy when Peter rewarded him with a beaming smile.


	4. Princess

For perhaps the first time in weeks everything was fine. Peter had just spent an entire morning baking with Harley. After the first little disaster where Harley had come to save him (from his own atrocious baking) they’d made no less than twelve separate batches of baked goods because as Harley soon learned, not only did Peter need extra food to satisfy his insanely fast metabolism, but he was also a thief in the kitchen. Peter had eaten through four different packets of chocolate chips which had been intended for the cookies. Well, four that Harley had found out about anyway. 

 

Regardless, they’d made food, Peter had gotten cookies, Harley’d run off to do something or other, which meant that Peter now had, for perhaps the first time in his life, he got to sit down and just read a book. Aunt May had banned him from all Spider-Man activity for at least three days while his leg healed from being stabbed. Despite how much he insisted it had healed just fine the day before or that it had been a  _ light _ stabbing May, once he’d seen the murderous look in her eyes he’d figured he might as well just stay inside for once. 

 

Which is what brought him to being curled up on a couch underneath what could only be described as a small mountain of fluffy blankets. A book tucked in close and a steaming cup of hot chocolate in hand. Everything was perfect.

 

Well, it was perfect right until a body fell past the window before him screaming. 

 

For a few seconds Peter did absolutely nothing except blink in surprise and continue staring at the now empty window until he heard the screaming stop for a minute before a very familiar voice yelled out.

 

“PETER FUCKING CATCH ME!”

 

The blankets hadn’t even touched the ground by the time Peter was throwing himself out of the suddenly open (thanks FRIDAY) window right after Harley. Tucking his arms to his sides Peter tried to speed his decent up, gaining on Harley with every second as he flailed around helplessly as he plummeted towards the earth below. 

 

They must’ve passed almost ten storeys before Peter felt he was close enough to Harley that he could catch him with a web without doing any damage like breaking his back with the sheer force of a sudden stop. 

 

Just as his web caught Harley another one attached itself to the tower. With the extra weight at such an awkward distance Peter could do little more than simply pull Harley up to his level so he could figure out what the hell just happened. Harley allowed himself to be tugged up to Peter. A white knuckled grip and stern face were the first things to greet Peter when Harley was in his arms where he was supposed to be. 

 

“What the hell was that?” Harley asked. 

 

“Hold on, I’m the one who gets to ask that question here,” Peter protested even as his arms tightened around Harley’s waist to make sure he was secure. The only thing holding the pair up was Peter’s feet which were stuck firmly to the glass while he sat on his haunches. One thing he hadn’t anticipated though was that Harley would then need to be seated somewhere so they could talk. Apparently the solution to that particular problem was to just sit in Peter’s lap. A state that both of them were adamantly trying to ignore and both failing spectacularly. 

 

“I was decorating the tower,” was Harley’s only justification for why he had just plummeted halfway down one of the tallest buildings in New York. “Now I want to know why it took you so long to catch me.”

 

“Why it took me so long? Harley. How was I supposed to know you were planning on becoming a sidewalk pancake?” 

 

Harley scoffed, slapping Peter’s arm lightly in jest. However when his hand continued to rest there, a featherlight touch ghosting across Peter’s bicep he was almost convinced that had been Harley’s true reason for the movement. Although considering he never addressed the hand, or the lap sitting for that matter, it was most likely that Peter was just imagining things again. 

 

“You were supposed to be up there helping me you idiot.”

 

“No I wasn’t.”

 

“Yes you were.”

 

“No I was meant to be sitting down and reading a book not hanging outside a tower in the freezing cold.”

 

“No, you were meant to help me put tinsel up around the Avengers sign because you said you liked Christmas decorations and I like making you happy so that was my plan and then you never even showed up.”

 

Peter struggled to ignore the flutter of his heart at Harley’s words. He liked making him happy.  _ He  _ liked making him happy. If Peter’s arms reflexively tightened around Harley’s waist, drawing him in closer as best he could considering their awkward seating arrangement, well then that was his business. 

 

“I thought,” Peter began gently, “That when you said “let’s decorate the tower’ you meant the inside and that you would come get me when you wanted a hand.”

 

“Why’d you think that?”

 

“WHY WERE YOU DECORATING THE OUTSIDE OF A TOWER YOU DIPSHIT?” 

 

“WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?!”

 

“BECAUSE YOU JUST FELL OFF A TOWER.”

 

“I KNEW YOU WOULD CATCH ME!” Harley’s shouts died down as he saw the pure fear that swirled within Peter’s eyes. He himself hadn’t even realised just how terrified he’d been when he’d watched Harley fall towards the ground. He could barely even proces the last few minutes but the one thing that stuck in his thoughts was that Harley trusted him. He trusted him so much he was willing to do just about the dumbest thing in the world with the understanding Peter would be there for him no matter what. “I knew you would catch me,” he repeated, drawing Peter from his thoughts. His hand reached up to cup Peter’s cheek, waiting until Peter looked him in the eyes “Because that’s who you are Peter. You’re a hero. So of course you would save me.” 

 

Peter was pretty sure he now understood exactly what it felt like to have your heart melted because that was really the only way he could describe what Harley’s soft voice was doing to him.

 

“Alright there Princess, you may have a point.”

 

“Princess?” Really, did Harley not know that his scandalised expression pretty much guaranteed that Peter would never stop calling him that.

 

“Yeah ‘Princess’, because you’re my little damsel in distress,” Peter teased.

 

Harley’s attempts to frown angrily at Peter until he swore to take it back didn’t work out when Peter threatened to drop him again.

 

“Actually that’s a good point,” Peter said glancing around, “We’re still very much sitting outside a giant tower in the cold and my feet are getting sore, wanna head inside? I’ve got some blankets up on the lounge.”

 

“Yes. Holy shit why did we have this conversation outside?”

 

“For the view?” Peter offered as he began to crawl back up the walls to the floor he wanted. Admittedly, he could just get in through any other window and catch the elevator up but doing that didn’t involve Harley wrapping his arms around Peter’s neck and his legs around his waist so for some unknown reason it just didn’t appeal as much.

 

“I’ve got enough of a view right here.” 

 

At first Peter was confused by that statement, after all Harley was pressed against his back, the only thing he was facing was the back of Peter’s head and the glass window. Oh. Peter’s gaze only focused on the reflection for a moment but sure enough Harley’s eyes were trained right on Peter’s face. 

 

Huh.

 

“Thanks Princess.” Peter said with a wink, laughing when Harley began spluttering indignantly. 


	5. Antlers

Harley had never been so ready to fight someone with superpowers.

 

“No no, the antlers are essential!”

 

“Peter I will end you if you put those on my head.”

 

Peter’s hands withdrew from where they hovered above Harley’s head, a pair of giant fake reindeer antlers clutched between them. 

 

“Okay,” he said slowly, still not putting down the antlers because he was a stubborn bastard if nothing else. “What if-”

 

“No.”

 

“But-”

 

“No.”

 

“Hang on, you don’t even know-”

 

“No.”

 

Peter slumped down onto the couch beside Harley, a pout on his lips and a sad look in his eyes. Really? Did he think that was going to work? Did he think he could just pull the puppy dog face and Harley would just fall at his knees to do whatever would bring back Peter’s beautiful smile that made Harley’s heart do somersaults in his chest and it made his whole day worth it as long as he got to make Peter happy and know that he was the one responsible for it and-

 

Wait. What was he meant to be thinking about?

 

A small, defeated sigh came from his immediate left. Ah, yes that makes sense. 

 

“Will you stop being dramatic if I wear the stupid antlers?” Harley asked, already regretting it. 

 

Peter bounded to his feet in a second, eager to complete his goal before Harley did something treacherous like not let him put the antlers on. Harley rolled his eyes at Peter’s antics but was still obviously willing to let him do whatever. What he didn’t expect though was that “whatever” seemed to be Peter running his hands through Harley’s hair under the pretence of smoothing it down so he could put the stupid headband on, however Harley couldn’t help the small shiver that ran down his spine. Peter’s nails dragged over his skin, harder than necessary which Harley instinctively responded to this by letting his eyelids flutter closed, his lips parting in a soft gasp. 

 

Immediately embarrassed he snapped his eyes open again just in time to see Peter leaning in over him, his fingers ghosting past Harley’s cheek as he brought the antlers up and over his head. Much more importantly though was the look in Peter’s eyes. His lashes were lowered as he looked down at Harley with a surprisingly dark gaze, a smug grin on the lips that were suddenly all too close and not close enough at all for Harley’s liking. 

 

And then a moment later Peter was gone, drawing back to what was probably a much more socially appropriate distance but much, much more of a pain for Harley who had to catch himself before he ended up following. His whole body wanted to trail after Peter, to stand up and close the distance between them. To reach out and hold him close. To find out what it felt like to run his hands through his hair for a change. To pull him close and never let him go. To find out what those lips-

 

“There you go Princess,” Peter said, his voice unfairly husky. 

 

Seriously how did he do that? Harley knew Peter as the dorky nerd who hung out with him in the lab and who liked tinsel and chunky Christmas sweaters that were still not enough to cover his stupidly attractive muscles. 

 

“You’re looking good.” Peter said with a wink that was in no way responsible for the sudden rush of blood up to Harley’s face. Okay, maybe it was but it is not his fault. Nobody, and especially not Peter, should be allowed to say that with  _ that _ look on his face and in  _ that _ tone of voice and still be talking about stupid reindeer antlers. 

 

God, Harley would definitely need to get payback for this one. 


	6. Ice Skating

Peter needed to update his will. That’s what he decided as he slammed to the ground for the twelfth time in ten minutes. 

 

Beside him, still entirely upright and laughing like an asshole, was Harley. 

 

“Peter,” he gasped out, struggling to talk in between his giggles, “how are you  _ so _ bad at this?”

 

To maintain some sense of dignity Peter elected not to answer, instead he got his arms out from underneath himself where he’d fallen on them, and cursing every god ever for making ice so difficult for an average guy with spider powers to stick to, he stood again, wobbling on shaky legs. 

 

Harley was quite happy amusing himself by watching Peter direct murderous glares to the ice rink below his skates. 

 

“Peter why do you suck so much at ice skating? I thought you said you were good at this.”

 

Peter turned his glare to face Harley who was at this point entirely immune to them. 

 

“I  _ was _ good at this. But it’s been years since I’ve been on an ice rink and I don’t know if you’re aware of this fun little fact about me but I have since spent those years with superpowers that allow me to attach myself to any surface so maybe I’m just not used to  _ sliding _ across a floor when I’m walking around on a bloody knife. Hey. Shut up. Stop laughing at me Harley.”

 

Despite Peter’s entirely fair and justified explanation of just why it was he actually did kind of suck at this, Harley continued to laugh. And then he laughed some more. And then, just to keep things interesting, he laughed at Peter’s eternal misery that had started the moment he’d stepped onto this cursed surface. 

 

“Harley.” 

 

Peter had to tug at his sleeve three separate times until Harley would actually pay attention. He sobered up when he saw such an intense look in Peter’s eyes.

 

“Harley, stop laughing right now and give me your fucking hand.”

 

Watching Harley’s reaction to that statement was almost like seeing a computer short circuit. Slowly Harley’s skates drifted to a stop beside Peter where he’d been circling him. 

 

“My what?” He finally said.

 

“Guess I’ve got to do it myself.” Peter reached out and grabbed Harley’s hand where it hung uselessly. He tried to ignore the way Harley looked over at him. He also tried to ignore all the different emotions he could feel radiating off the other boy. They were just friends. Friends who held hands when skating together because Peter sucked at it and for no other reason. Friends who trusted each other implicitly to the extent one of them would throw himself off a building like an idiot because he knew the other would be there to catch him. 

 

Yes. Just friends.

 

Together the pair skated on. To his surprise Harley was exceptionally okay with being used as a glorified walking stick. Every so often Peter would glance over to check if he looked like he wanted to leave at any moment but instead he would just catch Harley gazing down at their intertwined hands in wonder. For someone so abrasive and independent Harley always seemed okay when he was in Peter’s presence. 

 

Really if the whole antler incident hadn’t happened Peter would’ve been pretty sure they were just friends. But then he’d seen an opportunity and it had been far too tempting not to just try and… uh… well. Huh. Peter wasn’t exactly sure what all that was. Deep down in his subconscious the word ‘flirting’ appeared but denial was a great thing that Peter possessed an awful lot of and he squashed that thought down immediately.

 

Really, it was better to just stay in the moment, skate a little bit, hold hands a little bit, think about kissing a little bi-

 

Oh. 

 

Oh no.

 

Okay, so uh, Peter liked Harley. 

 

Interesting.

 

He snuck a glance at the boy beside him who had started up a running commentary of how much all the other skaters sucked, “Peter did you see that guy just slam into the barrier, I want a video of that in my brain to play forever,” but his words just flew right in one ear and out the other.

 

Peter could’ve spent hours just watching him, watching the way his eyes lit up with amusement, or the way his whole body turned to face Peter when he talked, always making sure he was interested. Always finding a way to make him laugh. 

 

Yeah so… Peter was absolutely and entirely screwed.


	7. Sweaters

“You’re wrong.” Peter said with a surprising amount of surety for someone who himself was entirely incorrect. 

 

“I’m not though,” Harley countered. He refused to face Peter in the middle of this argument. Not when he could instead continue to lay curled up on the couch not actually watching the movie that was playing on the television screen. Peter on the other hand continued to stand there, hands on his hips while he wore the single ugliest outfit Harley had ever been cursed enough to see in his life.

 

“Harley, this looks great and you know it.” Peter’s resolve was impressive, if entirely unfounded.

 

“Peter,” he mimicked the slow, condescending tone Peter had just been using, “You are wearing a bright red sweater with a very poorly knitted blue spider that inexplicably has little gold snowflakes all over it. And it is covered in glitter.”

 

Peter glanced down, “Yeah?”

 

Wow. He didn’t even see the problem with that.

 

“C’mon Peter, you know that’s not even a christmas sweater right?”

 

“Uh, yes it is,” Peter looked so genuinely offended Harley didn’t know what to do, “Of course it’s a christmas sweater it has snowflakes.”

 

“Peter.”

 

“Harley.”

 

“Spiders are  _ not _ festive.”

 

“They are if you knit them into jumpers.”

 

“I don’t have the energy to address all the ways that you’re incorrect,” Harley sunk even lower into his cocoon of blankets like he was trying to physically hide himself away from the monstrosity that Peter was wearing. “Spiders aren’t festive. It’s just one of the rules of the universe you’re going to have to accept.”

 

“I have to accept nothing,” Peter declared. Sitting down right next to Harley’s face just to force him into looking directly at the fashion crime. Unacceptable.

 

Peter, like a fool, allowed himself to be distracted by whatever movie was playing, meanwhile Harley slowly let his hands sneak out of the blankets. They trailed up next to Peter’s side, slowly making their way higher until he was in the perfect position. And then he attacked.

 

Peter’s yelp quickly devolved into unbridled laughter, giggling as Harley tickled him. He struggled to escape, slapping at Harley’s hands, but he was laughing too hard to even see straight let alone hit effectively. Harley grinned, absurdly proud of his success. 

 

Their laughter was halted only for a moment as the two of them suddenly felt themselves falling off the couch. Peter landed with a heavy thump. 

 

“Harley,” he gasped “get off of me!” Peter pushed up at Harley who had landed right on top of him. Unfortunately for Peter though Harley was now in the perfect position to attack Peter even more. Harley struggled to get his feet underneath him just so he could have the perfect height advantage. 

 

Once he’d achieved that though he realised something rather important; he was currently straddling Peter. 

 

Oh. 

 

Oh no. 

 

Peter seemed yet to realise their little predicament, he was still far too busy trying to catch his breath except he kept erupting back into laughter every few seconds. Good. That gave Harley time to panic. 

 

Really there was no need to panic though, he and Peter were just friends. Friends who cuddled together on couches under warm blankets. Friends who went ice skating together where they were surrounded by couples and where they held hands. Friends who spent just about every waking moment in each other’s presence. Friends who sometimes… flirt? Yeah, flirt. A little. But just in a friendly way. Of course.

 

Yes. Just friends.

 

Harley took one look down at the boy that he was still very much sitting on top of, he watched him laugh, his eyes scrunched up in a way that was too cute to be allowed, his voice sounding like angels were singing, and everything about him was absolutely perfect. 

 

Okay, so uh, Harley liked Peter.

 

Interesting.

 

Harley had a grand total of three whole seconds to address the very, very,  _ very _ important revelation he’d just had before Peter suddenly seemed to have caught up. He watched his eyes widen in surprise, a bit of shock and possibly embarrassment cross Peter’s face.

 

_ Holy shit _ , Harley thought, panic reappearing all too suddenly,  _ he knows I like him. He knows I like him. He knows I li- _

 

“Uh, Harley?”

 

_ Crap crap crap crap crap. _

 

“You’re kind of sitting on me.”

 

Oh. 

 

Ooooh. Right. That’s what Peter figured out. He, uh, he didn’t know about the whole emotional turmoil that Harley was experiencing at that very moment. Cool.

 

“Yeah I am.”

 

“You planning on staying there?” Peter asked with a smile, a smile that told him that while he was still joking around there was something else going on inside that head of his. Interesting. 

 

“What?” Harley asked, a smug grin plastered on his face, “You going to tell me you’re  _ not _ enjoying it?” 

 

Yeah, he could definitely get used to a view like this. One where he can see Peter lying beneath him, his face bright red and his eyes dark with curiosity. 

 

“It’s just a little warm for me,” Peter choked out.

 

“Well if you think I’m too hot I’m sure I can help with that,” Harley purred. He purred. Like a damn cat. Boy, this better go well or he was going to throw himself into the sun out of shame alone. Reaching down Harley tugged at the edges of Peter’s disgusting sweater, pulling it slowly up his body. Harley was sure to give Peter plenty of time to say no, to stop what was happening. Instead Peter just lifted his back off the floor to allow Harley to finish peeling the sweater away. 

 

Okay so a revision to his earlier thought: Harley could  _ definitely _ get used to a view of Peter lying between his legs as he let Harley take off his clothes for him. 

 

All of a sudden his position atop of Peter stopped being so convenient when his body decided to start making its approval of his thoughts known. Before Peter could identify what was going on Harley leaned in close to his ear, and he just so happened to lift his hips up in the process for no particular reason at all. He drew in even closer until his lips were almost brushing against the sensitive skin of Peter’s ear and whispered.

 

“I told you so, spiders aren’t festive.”

 

And with that Harley stood and walked right out of the door with only one thought racing through his head; he was absolutely and entirely screwed.   
  



	8. Movie

“That’s it!” Harley declared, still shaking glitter out of his hair like he had been periodically for the last hour. “I’m done.”

 

Peter let the book in his hand fall to his lap. Until he realised he was sitting on the ceiling which meant gravity actually applies and the book crashed to the ground. “Aw man,” he muttered sadly as he considered the merits of wasting some of the tinsel web just so he could get it back. 

 

“Peter. Peter stop pouting at the book. I’m making a dramatic statement and you’re not paying attention.”

 

He rolled his eyes and dropped to the floor, accepting that he would obviously now have to be addressing whatever the new emergency was. After their little, uh, debate about what constituted as a festive sweater Harley had seemed to be coming up with a new problem every few hours that just  _ needed _ Peter’s help. He’d managed to escape most of them, really there was no way Harley even needed someone with spider powers to reach something in the top cupboard. 

 

Whatever game Harley was playing, Peter was onto him. He shuffled in place, crossing his arms and glaring down at Harley who mirrored his movements exactly. After figuring that his reading had been firmly interrupted Peter huffed and dropped to the floor only to find himself mere inches away from Harley’s face seeing as he’d hurried much closer in those few seconds of movement. See? That was the game. Every opportunity he’d had since the sweater fiasco he took to get close to Peter, to be right there at any moment, causing Peter’s heart to start doing flips just from seeing him walk in a room. His stomach would tie itself in knots at every look sent his way because there was no other explanation for what those expressions meant.  But then again, nothing else had happened.

 

It was just days of skirting around one another, a peculiar dance where Peter never seemed to know the right steps.

 

“So?” Harley asked, oblivious to the thoughts that swirled manically in Peter’s mind. “Are you going to ask?”

 

Peter sighed, rolling his eyes as he sat down onto the couch in a weak attempt to put distance between them and give his heart a chance to relax for once, only for Harley to follow suit, going so far as to lay his head on Peter’s shoulder. 

 

“A-alright Harley,” dear god he hoped he didn’t pick up on his stuttering there, “What’s wrong?” He didn’t have to say the words “this time” but they were heavily implied, enough to earn him a glare from Harley. 

 

“We’ve been too festive it hurts my naturally cynical soul,” he declared, sinking further into the cushions. 

 

“Uh, alright?” Where was he supposed to go with that? “So what do you wanna do instead?”

 

Harley seemed to simmer on his thoughts for a while, which gave Peter a chance to deal with the way Harley had squirmed around in place until he was practically wrapped around Peter, his arms crossed around his waist and their legs tangled between one another. 

 

“Movie.” The words were muffled by Peter’s shirt that Harley had just about burrowed into at that point. 

 

“A movie?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s your solution to being too festive?”

 

“You got a problem with that Parker?”

 

“No?” 

 

“Good.” Harley’s grip around Peter tightened ever so slightly, a pleasant sensation that was in no way affecting Peter. Not at all. Not even a little bit. 

 

Okay, so that was entirely a lie and Peter was very much having a small crisis. Of course it would be his damn luck that only a few days after he realises he’s a little bit in love with his friend does that friend insist on doing things like straddling him and practically lying on top of him on a couch. And more importantly of course it was entirely platonic from his end. 

 

Harley was probably just doing all this because it was funny. Some kind of joke. Like the very idea of the two of them actually flirting was so preposterous it was a perfect basis for amusement. And nothing else. 

 

“I’ll go put one on then.” Peter said, swallowing his self pity for long enough to extract himself from Harley’s koala-like grip. Really he could’ve just asked FRIDAY to put something on for them but there was something satisfying about grabbing the remote and scrolling through Mr Stark’s endless film collection until he settled on the perfect one. 

 

Retreating back to the couch he was sure to put as much distance between him and Harley as possible as he settled in to watch the most depressing movie he could find. If it just so happened to be about a man desperately in love with his friend who never took notice, well that was Peter’s business and he wasn’t projecting at all, no matter what some people might say. 

 

He was so focused on the film that he didn’t even notice the looks Harley kept sending his way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise: i'm still writing this. sorry its so late after the holiday but oh well you'll manage. It should hopefully be finished by tomorrow, fingers crossed


	9. Jackets

Okay. So the movie hadn’t gone quite like he’d planned. That’s fine. Maybe he had been coming off a little too strong over the last week but hell, it sure had been satisfying seeing the way Peter would flush bright red every time he stepped into a room. The movie had been what he’d thought was a perfect opportunity to get in close, maybe he would be cliche as all hell and do the fake-yawn-arm-over-shoulders move but Peter had kinda ruined it what with sitting in entirely the wrong end of the couch. Rude. 

 

But Harley was nothing if not determined, and if the shy glances he’d been on the receiving end of meant anything then they meant that Peter was definitely interested too. Now it was Harley’s job to prove that he was serious. 

 

Luckily enough, the perfect opportunity seemed to present itself the very next day. The boys were walking through Central Park at Peter’s insistence that there was no point for Harley to stay in New York if he wasn’t going to actually leave the tower once in a while and experience it, and no, googling the park doesn’t count Harley. Their fingers brushed lightly together as they walked in tandem through the snow covered pathways. Harley was halfway through a rant on why it was definitely a good idea to install rockets into the boots of the Spider-Man costume when he felt a small shudder from right beside him. 

 

A quick glance from the corner of his eye revealed Peter rubbing absentmindedly at his arms, a furtive movement that was in no way actually making him warmer but it wasn’t like Peter of all people would ever admit he wasn’t feeling well. Harley sighed, rolled his eyes and shrugged out of his jacket. He was halfway through putting it in Peter’s hands without breaking his sentence by the time the boy realised what was happening. 

 

“Ah. I’m not going to just hold your jacket.”

 

Harley snorted. “Yeah I know. You’re going to wear it.”

 

Peter’s face whipped towards him, confusion settled in his features. “You know I’m not actually a spider right? I  _ am _ warm blooded.” He shook his head lightly and tried to push the clothing back towards Harley who was adamantly crossing his arms to stop the movement, “You don’t need to give me this.”

 

“I know I don’t,” He said slowly, averting his gaze “but maybe I want you to be happy. And maybe I’m trying to be nice.” He snuck a glance at Peter, who’s grin was looking like it was wide enough to split his entire face in half. “Shut up Parker. I can be nice sometimes.”

 

“Oh I know that,” Peter’s words were not quite enough to smother his laughter, “that’s not what I’m smiling at.”

 

Harley frowned in confusion before following his gaze down to his chest.  _ Oh no _ . 

 

Peter’s muffled laughter quickly evolved into full on giggles at the look of sheer regret on Harley’s face as he realised he was wearing the spider sweater. 

 

“Not Christmasy huh?”

 

Was it possible to say anything that wouldn’t make him admit that he was only wearing it because every time he felt it on his skin he couldn’t help but remember the feel of Peter lying beneath him? 

 

“It’s not.” He said firmly “it’s just… Uh, warm? Yes. Yes, it’s warm. I’m warm now. You would be too if you wore that.” He gestured to the jacket that Peter was practically hugging to his chest as he grinned smugly at Harley, entirely disbelieving him. Thankfully though he seemed content to be quiet for once and put his jacket on and… oh. Oh okay. So Harley may have just learnt that he very much likes the look of Peter in his clothes. That’s… yes. Okay so that’s now an image that he will have seared into his brain to think of when he is, uh,  _ busy _ later. 

 

Before his thoughts could carry on in that particular direction though he felt his fingers slip into Peter’s open hand of their own accord. Peter let out a soft gasp of surprise but didn’t pull away which was perhaps the best sign he’d gotten that entire day that maybe, just maybe, his plan to woo the boy might actually work. 

 


	10. Snowball Fight

“Psssst!” Peter hissed, “Harley! Get the _fuck_ over here!”

 

Harley’s steps faltered. He paused, turning to where the voice had come from only to find Peter sheltered behind a mound of snow. Despite the somewhat frantic look in his eyes Harley couldn’t see any immediate danger, and so was sure to walk as slowly as possible over to him.

 

Peter took only a second to glare at him before he peeked over the snow mound and ducked for cover.

 

“Harley, get the fuck down you’re a target!”

 

He crouched begrudgingly and with a roll of his eyes. “A target for what?”

 

Peter opened his mouth to respond but before he could, Harley felt a ball of snow slam into his head.

 

“Peter?” His voice was slow as molasses which hopefully gave Peter enough time to regret everything that brought them to a point in time where Harley had chunks of frozen water sliding down his cheek. “What is happening?”

 

“Uh… I’m going to beat Iron Man.”

 

“At what?”

 

“Um… how mad are you gonna be if I say ‘a snowball fight’?”

 

“Pretty mad.”

 

“Then it’s definitely not that.”

 

Harley heaved in as deep and dramatic a sigh as he possibly could, then stood up and walked the twelve foot distance to a different mound of snow behind which huddled a very familiar billionaire.

 

“Tony,” the man looked up at him, “you are also a child I see.” He observed.

 

Tony grinned, a little bit more maniacally than normal, “Peter said I was too old to do this but I am not old, I am youthful and charming and he's going down. Now join my team or get off the battlefield.”

 

“Hmm,” Harley purses his lips and pretended to actually consider this offer as if it were a real thing he should genuinely be thinking about. “No.”

 

Tony glared at him the entire time it took for Harley to exit the so called “battlefield”.

 

“Right,” he mumbled to himself, “Guess I know what I’m doing now.”

 

-

 

“If you hit me again you will be banned from my lab for three months.”

 

“If _you_ hit _me_ again I’m not going to let you see my new design for the webshooters!”

 

Tony’s gasp could probably be heard for miles it was that dramatic. “Alright! Alright! The game’s over. You’ve proved you’re still a child and I’ve proved that I am still incredibly fun so we can get out of this damn snow.”

 

Peter huffed a small laugh but refused to stand up, not while Tony himself was still huddled behind his little snow fort. Both men too afraid to be the one to stand up and reveal themselves first. That would be like admitting defeat, something both of them were far too stubborn to do before the other. Luckily enough they were saved from that particular problem when piles of snow suddenly plummeted down on top of them, covering their entire bodies in cold whiteness.

 

Peter spluttered and coughed while Tony angrily shook the snow out of his designer jacket. No one could be quite sure why he thought it was a good idea to have a snowball fight while dressed in a designer jacket but that wasn’t really the point. The actual point was that Harley had totally just won. A fact that he was sure to point out as he laughed at them, peering down from the window above them, a now-empty bucket in each hand.

 

Tony took one look at him, huffed indignantly and sauntered back into the tower, grumbling about how maybe he is actually too old for this shit after all. Meanwhile Peter and Harley managed to keep straight faces for all of three seconds before erupting into laughter. Their sides shaking with unbridled joy because there would never be anything better than watching Tony get beaten at something he thought he’d win. That was just a fact of the universe. In fact, both of them were still giggling by the time Harley made it back downstairs to find Peter still sprawled in the snow. He sat down beside him, their legs pressed warmly together.

 

“So,” Harley said, “A snowball fight?”

 

“Yeah,” Peter leaned his head down onto Harley’s shoulder, either because he was tired or because Harley just so happened to be the perfect height for head leaning (also he was very comfy and very good looking not that that had anything to do with anything). “Aw, don't look at me like that Princess. You were out and I needed something else to do.”

 

“So does that mean you were planning to do me?”

 

 _Oh no. Ohhhh no._ He did _not_ mean to say that. Well, not out loud anyway.

 

Peter turned, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping open. There was nothing Harley could do except sit and watch him splutter for something to say. _Ah shit. Need a distraction. Need something else to say. Need to pretend he’s not trying to come on to Peter._

 

Wait.

 

No.

 

He _is_ trying to flirt. Why would he try to backtrack off that surprisingly smooth statement?

 

Harley schooled his features into a smirk, dropping his eyelids just enough to be suggestive as he gazed at Peter, who in turn looked back, his cheeks flushing a charming red that contrasted with the pure white snow that still dusted across his face. Harley reached one hand tentatively up to brush it off.

 

“Well,” he said when Peter continued to sit there mutely, “I’ll see you inside.”

 

And with that, Harley stood, brushed snow from his clothes, and sauntered inside without a look back at the boy who couldn’t take his eyes off of him.  


	11. Jingle Bells

“Peter?” Harley’s voice was sugary sweet, the kind of sweet that managed to both send butterflies swirling through Peter’s stomach and a shot of anxiety through his blood. Sweet Harley was lovely but he never seemed to appear unless he was about to threaten Peter with bodily harm. At the sound of his name Peter halted in his place, his finger hovering over the play button on his phone.

 

Harley glanced over at him, a smile too wide to be real. His eyes filled with danger. “Peter, I love you dearly but if you play ‘jingle bells’ one more time, I swear to god, I will strangle you.”

 

Peter retracted his hand, backing away slowly until he was almost out of the room. Harley nodded once, proud that his threat had been effective. Especially considering he was in no way kidding. Peter’s insistence that ‘jingle bells’ was a christmas necessity had been fine the first two times he’d played it. Once they crossed that threshold though Harley had spent every waking moment planning out how to get back at Peter for his frankly atrocious christmas traditions. No single human could seriously enjoy ‘jingle bells’ once it had been played at least three hundred and twenty seven times. Not that he’d been counting. 

 

Being the superpowered person he was Peter saw this opportunity to flee from the danger that was Harley without a moment’s hesitation. 

 

“Yeah, cool. Cool. No problem Harley, I’ll just be, uh, over here.” He stuttered out, running Harley’s words over in his head.

 

“Sure thing, ‘I love you dearly but I’ll strangle you if you play objectively the best song again’. Yeah Harley that’s what love is.”

 

_ Wait… _

 

Peter’s words came out more as a breath than even a whisper, “Wait… he loves me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay one more chapter that'll hopefully be up tomorrow :))


	12. Mistletoe

Peter’s eyes darted around the room as he peered through the doorway. A plate of cookies warming his hands while the soft murmurs of the Avengers chattering could be heard from the living room, the same room he was trying to enter at that very moment. Once more he glanced inside and, seeing the coast was finally clear, stepped through the door, only to feel a sudden rush of air and a soft press of lips against his cheek. His gasp of surprise was swallowed beneath the sound of Harley’s laughter as he darted away like he hadn’t totally just kissed Peter’s face for the fourth time that night, and stolen one of Peter’s cookies.

 

He continued to stare after him in shocked silence until he felt a strong hand clasp him on the shoulder. Tony smiled down at him as he gently pushed him further into the room seeing as Harley had yet again managed to cause him to freeze up right in the middle of a walkway.

 

“Kid, c’mon move it. Yeah that’s right one foot in front of the other, you give me the plate before you drop it, yeah, now sit down on the couch. Good.” Tony’s laughter could be heard throughout his every word as he shepherded him down onto a sofa surrounded by the other Avengers who all had various expressions of amusement on their faces. Except for Thor that is, who simply seemed confused.

 

“I do not understand,” Thor said, looking at Cap for an explanation, “Why does Harley keep kissing Peter but only when he walks through that door? It’s illogical. But ha! It does seem fun!”

 

Peter could feel himself hunkering down into his own arms to hide his face from the world while Steve struggled to explain the concept of mistletoe to an alien god.

 

“Aw, look at the kid,” Tony smirked, “He’s blushing.”

 

“Mr Stark, stop,” he whined “I don’t know what’s happening.”

 

“You’re a smart kid, you’ll figure it out.”

 

“Mr Stark? Mr Stark what does that mean? Mr Stark stop walking away from me. Hey, wait!”

  


-

 

 

“Hey Peter?”

 

“Yeah Steve?”

 

“Do you mind taking a few steps back for a second?” Peter glanced behind him to see the Christmas tree looming over him, but Captain America had asked him to move so move he did. Pine needles and baubles dug lightly into his back but a look at Steve and the reassuring nod he got in return seemed to mean he’d done the right thing. Not that Peter had any real idea why Steve was grinning so much at the fact he was basically standing inside the tree by that point.

 

The answer came in the form of a patter of feet heading right towards him. Peter didn’t even have time to turn around before he felt a body launching itself at him. The momentum pushed both of them to the floor with the christmas tree falling in their wake. Seeing as it was Christmas at Stark Tower of course the tree just had to be fifteen feet tall. Really it was only Peter’s quick reflexes that managed to push them out of the way before they became Christmas pancakes.

 

He found himself panting, one hand raised above his head to hold up the tip of the tree that still threatened him and the other wrapped around the waist of Harley who had somehow managed to fall right onto him as he’d jumped which meant he was currently straddling Peter. Again.

 

“I can’t believe I just fell for you,” Harley muttered, his eyes dark and his voice heavy. Peter huffed a small laugh and tried not to let disappointment well up in his chest as he pined for a world in which Harley would use cheesy lines like that and actually mean them.

 

“Yeah neither can I. Believe me.” Harley’s grin twitched uncertainly for a moment at the flatness of Peter’s voice before coming back full force in a smug smirk. “Seriously,” Peter continued, well aware that they were both still lying on the ground, a tree above them and Harley’s arms braced around his head, “Why did you just push me into this tree, huh?”

 

“Well I had to of course.”

 

“Oh really?”

 

“Uhuh.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

“Mistletoe.” Harley said like it was obvious. And maybe it was because at that very moment Peter’s gaze drifted above them where the little green plant hung teasingly. He felt more than saw, Harley leaning down, his lips pressing down right at the corner of his mouth, the warm pressure being just enough to send the flock of butterflies in his stomach wild. Harley had pulled back mere inches, still close enough that if Peter were to lift his neck just a little their lips would reconnect, finally, properly, the way he’d been imagining them doing for weeks.

 

He could feel himself rising, the distance closing, his eyelids slipping down, their breath mingling, their lips-

 

“Ha!” Tony’s triumphant exclamation shocked the pair of them back into reality all at once. Both boys turning to see Steve holding out a ten dollar note while backing away from Thor who looked like he was trying to mash their heads together. “I told you that explaining mistletoe to him would just make him try to kiss you Cap. I told you and I was right as per always.”

 

“Alright alright! Tony, get him off me now!”

 

Peter’s head thumped to the ground in defeat, the moment ruined. if it had ever existed at all. Perhaps it was all just in Peter’s mind and it was really a gift that he hadn’t had a chance to make such a fool of himself.

 

 

-

 

 

There was quite possibly nothing better than finally having enough to eat. Peter could definitely attest to that since from the moment he got that spider bite, the boy was always hungry. But after Christmas dinner with the Avengers he genuinely thought he might never need more food in his life.

 

In fact, he was so satisfied that the only thing left for him to do was curl up on the couch and close his eyes. He must’ve sat there for half an hour, aglow in a pleasant feeling of calmness with the soft sounds of Avengers chattering away in the background. Beside him he felt the cushions dip with a new weight, a body far too small to be any of the supersized heroes on the team which of course meant it must be Harley. Harley who had decided to snuggle in close to Peter’s side, his head resting upon his shoulder. Peter smiled lazily at the comfortable pressure. Absentmindedly, he let his arm snake around Harley’s own shoulders, pulling him closer still until he was tucked firmly into his side. If he’d thought ahead he might’ve questioned just how smart it was to bring Harley’s eats right next to his chest which still caged his rapidly beating heart. But he didn’t think ahead. And Harley certainly wasn’t going to say anything if he happened to notice Peter’s elevated heartbeat. After all it was kinda really sweet that he still managed to get flustered around him.

 

 

-

 

 

The boys had been lying on the couch for almost an hour, their quiet peace interrupted every so often by murmured conversation and sarcastic quips. So everything was pretty much normal.

 

Eventually they were roused by Tony demanding that they come give an opinion on whether or not he was the best inventor of the century. No one was quite sure why he expected sincere and genuine support from two teenage boys who were well known for being little shits, but he still managed to be disappointment by their endless laughter.

 

“Aw man,” Peter said, wiping tears from his eyes as he let out a few more chuckles “that was the greatest end to Christmas that I could’ve ever had. Thank you Tony Stark for this incredible gift.”

 

Harley smirked at Peter, “That’s it? That’s the best thing that’s happened today?”

 

He smiled back uncertainly, “Well sure, unless you have anything better to do in the next-” he took a quick look at his watch, “ten minutes?”

 

The only warning he had of what was to happen next came in the form of Harley rolling his eyes. Next thing he knew, Peter could feel himself being pushed back until his shoulders hit a doorway, Harley’s hands pressed firmly against Peter’s chest and his mouth pushing against his own and-

 

Oh.

 

They were kissing. Peter’s gasp of surprise was immediately swallowed by Harley’s mouth that continued to press even harder against him. His hands shifted up across his back of their own accord, Peter’s fingers curling tight in his jacket, struggling to pull him closer still. The thrum of his heart pounded through his veins, matched only by the beat in Harley’s own.

 

After either seconds or eternities they pulled away, Peter’s breath coming out in surprised gasps as he stared at Harley whose lips were distractingly red.

 

“Oh look,” Harley murmured, “how’d that mistletoe get there?”

 

Peter didn’t even need to look up to know that above them hung a little green sprig.

 

“I don’t- I, uh- I don’t think you’re expected to actually make out with someone under one of those.”

 

“No,” he said happily, “but you didn’t seem to be getting the hint.”

 

“What hint?”

 

Wow. Harley’s exasperation might just have learnt to take physical form if the glare he sent Peter’s way was anything to go off.

 

“Peter. I tried so hard to kiss you that I managed to knock over an entire Christmas tree and humiliate myself in front of the Avengers for you.”

 

“Wait,” Peter’s eyes widened in shock, “Wait… you actually like me? Like, properly?”

 

Harley managed to look at him for all of three seconds before letting his head thump defeatedly against the door frame.

 

“How am I still this attracted to you, you absolute dumbass.”

 

Peter grinned, his heart fluttering at the casual way Harley just admitted that to him.

 

“Of course you are Princess, you fell for me and everything.”

 

Harley couldn’t help smiling at him, his gaze surprisingly soft. “Yeah, I sure did.”

 

Leaning in, their twin smiles were soon made into one as Peter’s lips found Harley’s and he couldn’t help but thinking that it was exactly where he was supposed to be.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking through this mess of a fic, hope you all like it


End file.
